Land grid array connector including heterogeneous contact elements

ABSTRACT

An electrical connector for electrically connecting to pads of a land grid array formed on an electronic component includes a dielectric layer including opposing first and second surfaces, and a multiple number of contact elements extending above the first surface of the dielectric layer. Each contact element includes a conductive portion disposed to engage a respective pad of the land grid array for providing electrical connection to the land grid array. In particular, the multiple number of contact elements includes a first contact element and a second contact element whereby the first contact element has an operating property different than an operating property of the second contact element. In one embodiment, the operating property includes a mechanical or an electrical property. For example, the first contact element can have a larger elasticity than the second contact element.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.10/460,496, filed Jun. 11, 2003, and is related to the followingcopending and commonly assigned U.S. patent applications: U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/412,729, entitled “Contact Grid Array System,”of John D. Williams et al., filed on Apr. 11, 2003. This application isalso related to the following commonly assigned U.S. patentapplications: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/460,501, filed Jun.11, 2003, entitled “Remountable Connector for Land Grid Array Packages,”of Dirk D. Brown et al.; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/460,504,filed Jun. 11, 2003, entitled “Circuitized Connector for Land GridArray,” of Dirk D. Brown et al.; and U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/460,497, filed Jun. 11, 2003 entitled “Contact Grid Array Formed On APrinted Circuit Board,” of Dirk D. Brown et al. The aforementionedpatent applications are incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The invention relates to reconnectable, remountable electricalinterconnects for LGA components and, in particular, to an LGA connectorincluding heterogeneous contact elements, that is, contact elementshaving different operating properties.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

[0003] Electrical interconnects or connectors are used to connect two ormore electronic components together or to connect an electroniccomponent to a piece of electrical equipment, such as a tester. Forinstance, an electrical interconnect is typically used to connect anelectronic component, such as an integrated circuit (an IC or a chip),to a printed circuit broad. An electrical interconnect is also usedduring integrated circuit manufacturing for connecting an IC deviceunder test to a test system. In some applications, the electricalinterconnect or connector provides separable or remountable connectionso that the electronic component attached thereto can be removed andreattached. For example, it may be desirable to mount a packagedmicroprocessor chip to a personal computer mother board using aseparable interconnect device so that malfunctioning chips can bereadily removed or upgraded chips can be readily installed.

[0004] Conventional electrical connectors are usually made of stampedmetal springs, which are formed and then individually inserted into aninsulating carrier to form an array of electrical connection elements.Other approaches to making electrical connectors include usingisotropically conductive adhesives, injection molded conductiveadhesives, bundled wire conductive elements, and small solid pieces ofmetal.

[0005] Land grid array (LGA) refers to an array of metal pads (alsocalled lands) that are used as the electrical contact points for anintegrated circuit package, a printed circuit board, or other electroniccomponent. The metal pads are usually formed using thin film depositiontechniques and coated with gold to provide a non-oxidizing surface. LGApackages are typically cheaper to manufacture than ball grid array (BGA)packages because there is no need to form solder balls or solder bumps.However, LGA packages are typically more difficult to assemble onto a PCboard or a multi-chip module. LGA connectors are usually used to provideremovable and remountable socketing capability for LGA packages to PCboards or chip modules.

[0006] Advances in electronic device packaging technology has led toshrinking package geometries and increasing lead count. That is, thespacing (or the pitch) between each component electrical connection(also referred to as a “lead”) on an electronic device is decreasing,while the total number of connections is increasing. For example,existing IC packages may be built with a pitch of 1 mm or less with 600or more connections. Furthermore, IC devices are designed to be operatedat increasingly higher frequencies. For example, IC devices for use intelecommunication and networking applications can be operated at afrequency of over 1 GHz. The operating frequencies of the electronicdevices, the package size and lead count of the device packages placestringent requirements on the interconnect systems used to test orconnect these electronic devices.

[0007] In particular, the mechanical, electrical and reliabilityperformance criteria of an interconnect system are becoming increasinglydemanding. Conventional interconnect technologies have not been able tomeet all of the mechanical, electrical and reliability requirements foruse with high speed, small dimension and large pin count IC devices. Ingeneral, conventional connector systems optimized for electricalperformance have poor mechanical and reliability properties, whileconnector systems optimized for mechanical performance and improvedreliability have poor electrical characteristics.

[0008] A particular problem encountered by today's interconnect systemsis the variation in coplanarity and positional misalignment of the leadsin the electronic components to be connected. In a conventional LGApackage, the pads (the leads) of the package can become non-coplanar dueto substrate warpage. The vertical offset between the pads in the arrayis often referred to as coplanarity variations. When the amount ofvertical offset exceeds the coplanarity tolerance of a LGA connector,some of the pads may not be able to make electrical connection to theconnector at all. Coplanarity variations of the pads of an LGA componentmake it difficult to make high quality and reliable electricalconnections to all the leads of the electronic component.

[0009] Moreover, the location of the leads may also deviate from theirpredefined ideal position due to manufacturing limitations, resulting inpositional misalignment. An effective interconnect must accommodate thehorizontal positional variations of the leads of the electroniccomponents to be connected. To make matters worse, the positionaldeviation of a lead relative to the lead size itself, due to eithercoplanarity variations or positional misalignments or both, on anelectronic device from its ideal location increases as the size of thepackage decreases.

[0010] Coplanarity problems are not limited to IC packages but may alsobe exist in the printed circuit board (PC board) to which these ICpackages are attached. Coplanarity problems may exist for LGA padsformed as an area array on a PC board due to warpage of the PC boardsubstrate. Typically deviation from flatness in a conventional PC boardis on the order of 75 to 125 microns or more per inch.

[0011] While LGA connectors can be effectively used to electricallyconnect an LGA package to printed circuit boards or modules, providinghigh density, high performance interconnections, the connector interfacebetween the connector and the component to be connected are subject topotential reliability degradation. For instance, corrosive materials orparticulate debris can enter the interface area, preventing properelectrical connection to be made. Also, the repeated mating orseparation and remating of an LGA package may degrade the LGA connector,causing intermittent connection conditions and inhibit reliableelectrical connection.

[0012] As a result, a connector for connecting the LGA packages to theprinted circuit boards or modules must be able to meet the mechanical,electrical and reliability requirements of today's small geometry andlarge lead count packages. In particular, an LGA connector must becapable of accommodating the coplanarity variations of the LGA packageand/or the printed circuit board. Otherwise, the connector cannot makeacceptable and reliable connection to the electronic components.Conventional interconnect devices, such as stamped metal springs,bundled wire, and injection molded conductive adhesives, become verystiff and very difficult to manufacture as the dimensions are scaleddown, rendering them unsuitable even for accommodating electroniccomponents with normal positional variations. This is particularly truewhen the spacing between the contacts scales below 1 mm where theelectrical path length requirement also scales to below 1 mm to minimizeinductance and meet high frequency performance requirement. In this sizeregime, existing interconnect technologies become even more stiff andless elastic and cannot accommodate normal variations in systemcoplanarity and positional misalignments with a reasonable insertionforce of about 30 to 40 grams per contact.

[0013] U.S. Pat. No. 5,199,879 discloses an electrical assembly whereina conductive pin projecting from one circuit member is electricallyengaged by one or more flexible portion of a circuitized element in asecond circuit member. The flexible portions, in the shape of tabs,include a conductor layer formed on a dielectric layer. Because theelectrical assembly of the instant patent is used for making electricalconnection to pins having a long electrical contact length, anyvariations in coplanarity can be accommodated by the length of the pins.The tabs of the electrical assembly are not suitable for use in otherelectronic device package types, such as LGA packages, whereaccommodation for coplanarity variations is critical.

[0014] It is desirable to provide an electrical interconnect systemwhich can accommodate normal positional tolerances, such as coplanarityvariations and positional misalignments, in electronic components to beconnected. Furthermore, it is desirable to provide an electricalinterconnect system adapted for use with small geometry, high leaddensity electronic devices operating at high frequencies.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0015] According to one embodiment of the present invention, a connectorfor electrically connecting to pads of a land grid array formed on anelectronic component includes a dielectric layer including opposingfirst and second surfaces, and a multiple number of contact elementsextending above the first surface of the dielectric layer. Each contactelement includes a conductive portion disposed to engage a respectivepad of the land grid array for providing electrical connection to theland grid array. In particular, the multiple number of contact elementsincludes a first contact element and a second contact element wherebythe first contact element has an operating property different than anoperating property of the second contact element. In one embodiment, theoperating property includes a mechanical or an electrical property.

[0016] In another embodiment, the contact elements are selected from thegroup of contact types including metal springs, bundled wires, metal inpolymer, and solid metal tabs. Furthermore, in other embodiments, themultiple number of contact elements can include different contact types.In yet another embodiment, a contact element in the multiple number ofcontact elements includes a base portion of conductive material and anelastic portion of conductive material formed integrally with the baseportion. The elastic portion extends from the base portion and protrudesabove the first surface of the dielectric layer. Each elastic portion ofthe multiple number of contact elements elastically engages a respectivepad of the land grid array for providing electrical connection to theland grid array and has an elastic working range on the order of theelectrical path length of the contact element.

[0017] The present invention is better understood upon consideration ofthe detailed description below and the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018]FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an integrated circuit assemblyincorporating an LGA connector according to one embodiment of thepresent invention.

[0019]FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of a connector according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

[0020]FIG. 2B is a top view of a contact element in the connector ofFIG. 2A.

[0021]FIG. 2C is a top view of a contact element according to anotherembodiment of the present invention.

[0022]FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional diagram illustrating the use of aconnector for interconnecting a land grid array package and a PC boardin accordance with the present invention.

[0023]FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view of a connector according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

[0024]FIG. 4B is a top view of a contact element in the connector ofFIG. 4A.

[0025]FIG. 4C is a perspective view of a connector according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

[0026]FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view of a connector according to analternate embodiment of the present invention.

[0027]FIG. 5B is a top view of a contact element in the connector ofFIG. 5A.

[0028]FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a connector according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

[0029]FIGS. 7A to 7C are cross-sectional views of the connector of FIG.6 being applied in a hot-swapping operation.

[0030]FIG. 7D illustrates the optimization of the contact force usingtwo contact elements with different spring constants.

[0031]FIG. 7E illustrates a connector including contact elements formedusing multiple layers of metals according to another embodiment of thepresent invention.

[0032]FIGS. 8A and 8B are cross-section view of connectors includingground planes for improving signal integrity and for controlling contactelement impedance.

[0033]FIG. 9A illustrates one embodiment of a circuitized connector inaccordance with the present invention.

[0034]FIG. 9B illustrates another embodiment of a circuitized connectoraccording to the present invention.

[0035]FIG. 10A illustrates another embodiment of a circuitized connectorin accordance with the present invention.

[0036]FIG. 10B is a top view of the electrical circuit formed in thedielectric substrate of the connector of FIG. 10A.

[0037]FIG. 10C illustrates another embodiment of a circuitized connectorin accordance with the present invention.

[0038]FIG. 10D is a top view of the electrical circuit formed in thedielectric substrate of the connector of FIG. 10C.

[0039]FIG. 11 illustrates a connector incorporating thermally conductiveplanes according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0040]FIG. 12 illustrates the operation of the thermally conductiveplanes in the connector of FIG. 11.

[0041]FIG. 13A is a cross-sectional view of a connector including acoaxial contact element according to one embodiment of the presentinvention.

[0042]FIG. 13B is a top view of the coaxial contact elements of FIG.13A.

[0043]FIG. 14 illustrates the mating of an LGA package to a PC boardthrough the connector of FIG. 13A.

[0044]FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of a printed circuit boardincorporating a contact grid array according to one embodiment of thepresent invention.

[0045]FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of a printed circuit boardincorporating a contact grid array according to another embodiment ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0046] In accordance with the principles of the present invention, aconnector for a land grid array (LGA) package or area array includes anarray of contact elements formed on a dielectric substrate where eachcontact element includes an elastic portion having an elastic workingrange on the order of the electrical path length of the contact element.The large elastic working range of the LGA connector of the presentinvention allows the connector to accommodate coplanarity deviations orpositional misalignment that may be present in most electroniccomponents to be connected, thereby providing high quality and reliableelectrical connection between electronic components. The connector ofthe present invention provides separable or remountable connection andis capable of retaining high quality electrical connection over repeatedinsertions. In one embodiment, the contact element is formed as metalflanges extending from a ring-shaped base.

[0047] The connector of the present invention provides numerousadvantages over conventional systems. First, the connector of thepresent invention is scalable in both pitch and height to less than 1 mmand is therefore suitable for use with electronic components packagedwith small lead geometries and large lead count packages.

[0048] Second, the connector of the present invention is capable ofaccommodating normal variations in coplanarity and positionalmisalignment of the electronic component to be connected while stillmeeting the mechanical, electrical, and reliability requirements ofconnectors for use with small lead geometries and large lead countelectronic components. Specifically, the contact elements of theconnector of the present invention are capable of maintaining elasticityover a range that accommodates positional tolerances in mostapplications, even for lead pitches of 1 mm or less. For instance, inone embodiment of the present invention, the connector of the presentinvention is capable of providing a mechanical working range of morethan 200 microns with an insertion force of 40 grams or less percontact. Thus, the connector of the present invention can accommodatecoplanarity variations and positional misalignments on the order of 200microns or more while maintaining a relatively low insertion force (40grams or less per contact). Conventional connector technologies thus farhave not been able to accommodate coplanarity variations while stillprovide satisfactory mechanical or electrical or reliability properties.

[0049] Third, the connector of the present invention is capable ofachieving good signal integrity at frequencies above 1 GHz. Furthermore,the connector can meet high frequency performance requirement even whenthe spacing between contact elements is on the order of 1 mm or less.

[0050] Fourth, the connector of the present invention can be adapted fora wide variety of applications. For instance, the connector can be usedto connect an LGA package to a PC board. The connector can also be usedto connect between LGA area arrays on two PC boards. Basically, theconnector of the present invention can be used to connect to LGA padsformed on any electronic components, such as on an LGA package, on amulti-chip module or on a PC board. As will be described in more detailbelow, the connector of the present invention can be formed by providingcontact elements on one side of the connector only. The other side ofthe connector can be formed by providing pins, solder balls or otherconventional connection mechanism. The connector of the presentinvention can also be formed by providing contact elements on both sideof the connector so that the connector can be used to mate two LGApackages together or provide separable connection of an LGA package topads on a PC board.

[0051] In the present description, an electrical interconnect or aconnector refers to a device for connecting two electronic componentstogether, such as an IC chip to a PC board, or for connecting anelectronic component to an equipment, such as a tester. In the presentdescription, the term “electrical interconnect” or “electricalconnector” will be used interchangeably to refer to the connector of thepresent invention for connecting to an electronic component using LGApads for leads. An electrical interconnect system or an electricalconnector, as described herein, can be used for electrically connectingtwo or more electronic components together or for electricallyconnecting an electronic component to a piece of equipment. Theelectronic components can include integrated circuit (IC) or chips,printed circuit boards or multi-chip modules. In the case of an LGAformed on a PC board, the LGA is sometimes referred to as an area array.The equipment can include test equipment such as an electrical tester.Furthermore, in the present description, the term “lead” will be usedcollectively to refer to the electrical connections on the electroniccomponents for making electrical contact with circuitry on or within theelectronic components. Thus, the leads of an electronic component caninclude, but are not limited to, the pads of a land-grid array packageor the pads on a printed circuit board.

[0052] Furthermore, while in the present description, the connector ofthe present invention is sometimes referred to as an LGA connector, itis understood that the connector of the present invention can be usedwith any electronic components including pads or “lands” as theelectrical connection. The use of the term “LGA connector” isillustrative only and is not intended to limit the present invention tobe used with LGA packages only.

[0053]FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an integrated circuit assemblyincorporating an LGA connector according to one embodiment of thepresent invention. FIG. 1 illustrates one application in which the LGAconnector of the present invention can be advantageously applied.Referring to FIG. 1, an LGA connector 12 is used to connect an LGApackage 10 to a PC board 14. The integrated circuit assembly can besecured by a bolster plate 16 and hardware 20 which provide compressiveforce between the LGA package and the PC board. A heat sink 18 issometimes included and placed on the top of LGA package 10 to provideheat dissipation for the integrated circuit chip in the LGA package.

[0054]FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of a connector according to oneembodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2B is a top view of a contactelement in the connector of FIG. 2A. Referring to FIG. 2A, connector 50includes a substrate 52 made of a dielectric material. In oneembodiment, the substrate is a dielectric layer made of FR-4 orpolyimide. In FIG. 2A, connector 50 is shown with a single contactelement 54 built on the top surface of substrate 52. In mostapplications, connector 50 will include multiple number of contactelements 54 arrayed on the top surface of the substrate. The number andarrangement of contact elements are selected based on the electroniccomponent to which the connector is to be connected.

[0055] Contact element 54 is formed using a conductive metal andincludes a base portion 55A and one or more elastic portions 55B. In thepresent embodiment, base portion 55A is formed in a the shape of a ring(FIG. 2B) and elastic portions 55B are formed as flanges extendinginwardly from base portion 55A. Furthermore, elastic portions 55B areformed protruding above base portion 55A and substrate 52. In operation,elastic portions 55B are compressed against a pad of an electroniccomponent to be connected to provide electrical connection to theelectronic component. In FIG. 2A, base portion 55A of contact element 54is formed on the top surface of substrate 52 and embedded underneath adielectric layer. In other embodiments, base portion 55A can be formeddirectly on the top surface of substrate 52 as well.

[0056] Contact element 54 is formed using a conductive metal that canprovide the desired elasticity. For example, contact element 54 can beformed using a copper-alloy (Cu-alloy) or a multilayer metal sheet suchas stainless steel coated with Copper-Nickel-Gold (Cu/Ni/Au) multilayermetal sheet. In a preferred embodiment, the contact elements are formedusing a small-grained copper-beryllium (CuBe) alloy.

[0057] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2A, each contact element 54 iscoupled to a corresponding terminal 58 on the bottom surface ofsubstrate 52. A via 56 is formed in substrate 52 and includes aconductive line electrically connecting contact element 54 and terminal58. In the present embodiment, via 56 is formed adjacent contact element54 and is connected to base portion 55A of the contact element as shownin FIG. 2B. Terminal 58 can be formed as any type of electricalconnection. In the present embodiment, terminal 58 is formed as a solderball. Connector 50 thus can be used as an interconnect between an LGApackage and a PC board where the solder ball of terminal 58 can bebonded to a pad on the PC board. Terminal 58 can also be formed as pinsor other contact structure, currently available or to be developed. Theexact configuration of terminal 58 and via 56 is not critical to thepractice of the present invention. According to an alternate embodimentof the present invention to be described in more detail below, terminal58 can be formed using a second set of contact elements 54 so that theconnector thus formed can be used to separably connect between pads oftwo LGA electronic components.

[0058] Furthermore, in FIG. 2A, terminal 58 is shown as being formed invertical alignment with contact element 54. This configuration isillustrative only and terminal 58 may be formed in any position relativeto contact element 54 depending on the application. For example,terminal 58 may be formed in an offset position from contact element 54.The exact location or placement of terminal 58 relative to contactelement 54 is not critical to the connector of the present invention.

[0059] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2B, contact element 54 is formedas including a ring-shaped base portion and four elastic portions. Thecontact element is coupled to terminal 58 through via 56. In the presentembodiment, the base portion is formed as a contiguous ring connectingthe four elastic portions to via 56. This configuration is illustrativeonly and is not intended to be limiting. The contact element of thepresent invention can be formed in a variety of configurations and eachcontact element only needs to have a base portion sufficient forattaching the elastic portion to the dielectric substrate. The baseportion can assume any shape and does not have to be in the form of aclosed circle. Thus, in an alternate embodiment of the present inventionshown in FIG. 2C, a contact element includes a base portion 59A and anelastic portion 59B extending from the base portion. A via can be formedin the base portion of the contact element for connecting the contactelement to the respective terminal on the other side of the dielectricsubstrate. Furthermore, a contact element can include multiple separatebase and elastic portions as shown in FIG. 2C. Although each of the baseand elastic portions in the contact element are isolated from eachother, they can be connected by metal traces in the dielectric substrateso that all base and elastic portions associated with one contactelement are connected to a single terminal.

[0060] In accordance with the present invention, the elastic portion ofthe contact element has a large elastic working range so that theelastic portion operates entirely in the elastic regime when compressed.Specifically, in one embodiment, the elastic portion behaves elasticityover substantially the entire electrical path length of the contactelement. In the present description, the “electrical path length” of thecontact element is defined as the distance the electrical current has totravel from the pad of the electronic component to the connector and isillustrated as the distance A-A′ in FIG. 2A. In connector 50 of thepresent invention, elastic portion 55B remains elastic over the entireelectrical path length and does not become plastically deformed undertypical load condition or typical insertion force that is applied to theconnector when used in an integrated circuit assembly.

[0061] More importantly, the elastic working range of the elasticportion is maintained even when the dimension of the contact element isscaled down. This represent a significant improvement over conventionalinterconnect technologies which can become plastically deformed at alower contact force when the contacts are scaled down. Thus, for smallgeometry interconnects, the conventional interconnect technologiescannot provide reliable separable connections because the connectorstypically become permanently deformed upon initial insertion. However,the connector of the present invention can provide reliable remountableconnection even over repeated insertions.

[0062] The large elastic working range of the connector of the presentinvention enables the connector to accommodate normal coplanarityvariations and positional misalignments in the electronic components tobe connected. The connector is thus capable of providing reliableelectrical connection despite coplanarity and positional irregularitiesthat may exist in conventional electronic components. FIG. 3 is across-sectional diagram illustrating the use of a connector 60 forinterconnecting a land grid array package 62 and a PC board 64. In thepresent illustration, connector 60 includes a first set of contactelements formed on the top surface of the connector and a second set ofcontact elements formed on the bottom surface of the connector.

[0063] As discussed above, coplanarity variations can occur both in aLGA package 62 and in PC board 64 to which the package is to beconnected. In operation, connector 60 of the present invention providesreliable electrical connection between LGA package 62 and PC board 64,despite the presence of coplanarity variations. Specifically, due to thelarge elastic working range of the contact elements, some contactelements (such as 66A and 66B) can become more compressed so that othercontact elements (such as 68A and 68B) can make effective electricalconnections to pads that are vertically offset due to warping of thepackage body. Furthermore, the large elastic working range of thecontact elements also permit the contact elements to make contact topads that are positionally misaligned (such as pad 69 on PC board 64).In this manner, each pad on LGA package 62 is connected to each pad ofPC board 64 through a pair of contact elements in connector 60. EitherLGA package 62 or PC board 64 can be demounted and remounted withoutdegrading the integrity of connector 60.

[0064] Returning to FIG. 2A, contact element 54 is formed on acontiguous substrate 52. However, this is illustrative only and in otherembodiments, substrate 52 may include apertures or holes, such as thosefor use in through-hole connection of conductive elements on the twosurfaces of the substrate. FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view of aconnector according to an alternate embodiment of the present invention.FIG. 4B is a top view of a contact element in the connector of FIG. 4A.In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4A, connector 80 includes two sets ofcontact elements formed on the top and bottom surfaces of dielectricsubstrate 82. Thus, connector 80 can be used to connect between two landgrid array components with pads as leads. Furthermore, connector 80includes a central aperture 88 formed in dielectric substrate 82.Conductive traces for connecting contact element 84 on the top surfaceto contact element 86 on the bottom surface are coupled through centralaperture 88. The diameter of central aperture 88 can be varied and canbe made as large as the base portion of the contact elements. The exactdimension of central aperture 88 is not critical to the practice of thepresent invention.

[0065]FIG. 4A illustrates connector 80 as including one contact element84 connected to one contact element 86. In practice, connector 80typically includes an array of contact elements arranged in a manner tomeet the floor plan of the leads of the electronic modules to beconnected. FIG. 4C is a perspective view of a connector 80 according toone embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4C, connector100 includes a first set of contact elements 104 formed on a first majorsurface of a dielectric substrate 102 and a second set of contactelements 106 formed on a second major surface of dielectric substrate102. Each pair of contact elements 104 and 106 are aligned with a hole108 formed in substrate 102. Metal traces are formed through hole 108 toconnect a contact element from the first major surface to a contactelement from the second major surface.

[0066] Note that FIG. 4C illustrates connector 100 during anintermediate step in the manufacturing process for forming theconnector. Therefore, the array of contact elements is shown as beingconnected together on a sheet of metal or metallic material. In thesubsequent manufacturing steps, the metal sheet between the contactelements are patterned to remove unwanted portions of the metal sheet sothat the contact elements are isolated as needed. For example, the metalsheet can be etched to isolate each contact element. The process forforming the connector of the present invention will be described in moredetail below.

[0067] In one embodiment, the connector of the present invention isformed as follows. First, a dielectric substrate including conductivepaths between the top surface and the bottom surface is provided. Theconductive paths can be in the form of vias or an aperture as shown inFIG. 2A and FIG. 4A. In one embodiment, the dielectric substrate is apiece of FR-4 material with plated through holes. A conductive metalsheet or a multi-layer metal sheet is then patterned to form an array ofcontact elements including the base portion and the elastic portion(s).The contact elements can be formed by etching or stamping or othermeans. The protrusion or bending of the elastic portions of the contactelements can be formed by stamping. The metal sheet is attached to thefirst major surface of the dielectric substrate. When a second set ofcontact elements is to be included, a second conductive metal sheet ormulti-layer metal sheet is accordingly patterned and attached to thesecond major surface of dielectric substrate 102. The metal sheet(s) canthen be patterned to remove unwanted metal from the sheet(s). Forexample, the metal sheet(s) may be etched so that the contact elementsare isolated from each other as needed. The metal sheet(s) can bepatterned by etching or scribing or stamping or other means.

[0068] One of ordinary skill in the art, upon being apprised of thepresent invention, would appreciate that the connector of the presentinvention can be manufactured in a variety of processes and in a varietyof process sequences. The above-described process is illustrative onlyand is not intended to be limiting. For instance, in other embodiments,the protrusion of the elastic portions can be formed after the metalsheet including patterned contact elements has been attached to thedielectric substrate. In other alternate embodiments, the unwantedportions of the metal sheet(s) can be removed before the contactelements are formed. Also, the unwanted portions of the metal sheet(s)can be removed before the metal sheet(s) are attached to the dielectricsubstrate.

[0069] Furthermore, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4C, conductivetraces are formed in the plated through holes and also on the surface ofthe dielectric substrate 102 in a ring-shaped pattern encircling eachplated through holes (denoted as feature 103). While such a conductivering can be provided to enhance the electrical connection between thecontact elements on the metal sheet and the conductive traces formed inthe dielectric layer, the conductive ring is not a required component ofthe connector of the present invention. In one embodiment, the connectorcan be formed by using a dielectric substrate including through holes(not plated). A metal sheet including an array of contact elements canbe attached to the dielectric substrate. After the metal sheet ispatterned to form individual contact elements, the entire structure canthen be plated to form conductive traces in the through holes connectingthe contact elements through the holes to the respective terminals onthe other side of the dielectric substrate. Numerous modifications tothe processing steps and sequence are possible for forming the connectorof the present invention.

[0070] In accordance with the present invention, the dimension, geometryand material composition of the elastic portion of the contact elementcan be varied to provide the desired mechanical and electricalproperties. Thus, the thickness, width, length, and shape of the elasticportions can be selected to provide the desired elasticity. The numberof elastic portions can also be selected to obtain the desiredmechanical and electrical properties. The description below providesmore details concerning the relationship between the size and geometryof the elastic portions and the electrical and mechanical properties ofthe same.

[0071] Furthermore, in FIGS. 2A and 4A, the elastic portions of thecontact elements are formed as flanges projecting linearly inward fromthe base portion. That is, the flanges are shaped in a straight line.The linear flange shape is illustrative only and the elastic portions ofthe contact elements of the present invention can assume other shapesdepending on the desired mechanical and electrical properties. FIGS. 5Aand 5B illustrate a contact element according to an alternate embodimentof the present invention. Referring to FIG. 5A, a connector 150 inaccordance with the present invention includes a contact element 154formed on a dielectric substrate 152. Contact element 154 includes abase portion 156 and two elastic portions 158 and 160 extending from thebase portion. In the present embodiment, elastic portions 158 and 160are formed in a spiral shape whereby the two elastic portions extendupward from the top surface of substrate 152 in spiral fashion. Thespiral shaped elastic portions provide additional benefits over alinearly shaped elastic portions. Specifically, the length of theelastic portions engaging a land area is effectively extended and theelastic working range of the elastic portion is accordingly lengthened.One of ordinary skill in the art, upon being apprised of the presentinvention, would appreciate that the elastic portions can be formed in avariety of shapes to obtain the desired mechanical and electricalproperties.

[0072] According to another aspect of the present invention, a connectorfor land grid array (an LGA connector) is provided with contact elementswith different operating properties. That is, the LGA connector includesheterogeneous contact elements where the operating properties of thecontact elements can be selected to meet requirements in the desiredapplication. In the present description, the operating properties of acontact element refer to the electrical, mechanical and reliabilityproperties of the contact element. By incorporating contact elementswith different electrical and/or mechanical properties, the LGAconnector of the present invention can be made to meet all of thestringent electrical, mechanical and reliability requirements forhigh-speed interconnect applications.

[0073] In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention,individual contact elements of the LGA connector can be formed using anyconventional LGA interconnect technology. Typically, a contact elementincludes a conductive portion for engaging the pad of the land gridarray. Individual contact elements can be formed on the top surface ofthe dielectric substrate, such as by placing the contact elementsdirectly on the top surface, or by embedding a portion of the contactelement within the top surface, or by forming a portion of the contactelement within an aperture on the top surface of the dielectricsubstrate. For example, contact elements in the form of metal springs,bundled wires, metal in polymer, solid metal tabs, or any otherelectrical contact technology can be used to form the individual contactelements. Furthermore, the LGA connector can be formed using the contactelement of the present invention and described above. In one embodiment,an LGA connector including heterogeneous contact elements is formed byincorporating different types of contact elements, each contact elementselected to provide the desired operating properties. Thus, the LGAconnector may include one or a group of contact elements formed usingmetal springs, one or a group of contact elements formed using bundlewires, and one or a group of contact elements formed using the contactelement of FIG. 2A or 4A. In another embodiment, an LGA connectorincluding heterogeneous contact elements is formed by using one type ofcontact elements (such as the contact element of FIG. 2A or 4A) andspecifically engineering one or a group of contact elements to provide adesired operating property different than the operating property of theremaining contact elements.

[0074] In one embodiment, an LGA connector includes a first set ofcontact elements requiring a low contact force and a second set ofcontact elements requiring a large contact force to engage. In general,a larger contact force correlates to a more robust and lower resistanceelectrical contact. Thus, in one embodiment of the present invention,contact elements to be connected to the power and ground pins of anintegrated circuit are formed as contact elements requiring a largecontact force while contact elements to be connected to the signal pinsof the integrated circuit are formed as contact element requiring a lowcontact force. In this manner, the power and ground pins carrying highcurrent can have a low resistance electrical path to minimizing Jouleheating while the signal pins can have low contact force to minimize theoverall contact force required for the connector.

[0075] According to alternate embodiments of the present invention, thefollowing mechanical properties can be specifically engineered for acontact element or a set of contact elements to achieve certain desiredoperational characteristics. First, the contact force for each contactelement can be selected to ensure either a low resistance connection forsome contact elements or a low overall contact force for the connector.Second, the elastic working range of each contact element over which thecontact element operates as required electrically can be varied betweencontact elements. Third, the vertical height of each contact element canbe varied, such as for accommodating coplanarity variations. Fourth, thepitch or horizontal dimensions of the contact element can be varied.

[0076] According to alternate embodiments of the present invention, theelectrical properties can be specifically engineered for a contactelement or a set of contact elements to achieve certain desiredoperational characteristics. For instance, the DC resistance, theimpedance, the inductance and the current carrying capacity of eachcontact element can be varied between contact elements. Thus, a group ofcontact elements can be engineered to have lower resistance or a groupof contact elements can be engineered to have low inductance.

[0077] In most applications, the contact elements can be engineered toobtain the desired reliability properties for a contact element or a setof contact elements to achieve certain desired operationalcharacteristics. For instance, the contact elements can be engineered todisplay no or minimal performance degradation after environmentalstresses such as thermal cycling, thermal shock and vibration, corrosiontesting, and humidity testing. The contact elements can also beengineering to meet other reliability requirements defined by industrystandards, such as those defined by the Electronics Industry Alliance(EIA).

[0078] When the contact elements in accordance with the presentinvention is used to form the LGA connector, the mechanical andelectrical properties of the contact elements can be modified bychanging the following design parameters. First, the thickness of theelastic portion, such as the flanges, can be selected to give a desiredcontact force. For example, a flange thickness of about 40 micronstypically gives low contact force on the order of 20 grams or less whilea flange thickness of 80 microns gives a much higher contact force ofover 100 grams for the same displacement. The width, length and shape ofthe elastic portion can also be selected to give the desired contactforce.

[0079] Second, the number of elastic portions to include in a contactmember can be selected to achieve the desired contact force, the desiredcurrent carrying capacity and the desired contact resistance. Forexample, doubling the number of flanges roughly doubles the contactforce and current carrying capacity while roughly decreasing the contactresistance by a factor of two.

[0080] Third, specific metal composition and treatment can be selectedto obtain the desired elastic and conductivity characteristics. Forexample, Cu-alloys, such as copper-beryllium, can be used to provide agood tradeoff between mechanical elasticity and electrical conductivity.Alternately, metal multi-layers can be used to provide both excellentmechanical and electrical properties. In one embodiment, a stainlesssteel flange is coated with copper (Cu) and then nickel (Ni) and finallygold (Au) to form a stainless steel/Cu/Ni/Au multilayer. The stainlesssteel will provide excellent elasticity and high mechanical durabilitywhile the Cu provides excellent conductivity and the Ni and Au layersprovide excellent corrosion resistance. Finally, cold working, alloying,annealing, and other metallurgical techniques can be used to engineerthe specific desired properties of the elastic portion.

[0081] Fourth, the bend shape of the elastic portion can be designed togive certain electrical and mechanical properties. The height of theelastic portion, or the amount of protrusion from the base portion, canalso be varied to give the desired electrical and mechanical properties.FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a connector according to oneembodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 6, connector 200includes a first contact element 204 and a second contact element 206formed on the top surface of a dielectric substrate 202. A matching pairof contact elements 207 and 208 is also formed on the bottom surface ofdielectric substrate 202 to be connected to contact elements 204 and206, respectively. As discussed above, contact elements 207 and 208 areoptional and the bottom terminals of connector 200 may include othertypes of connection, such as a solder ball or a pin.

[0082] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, contact element 204 includesfour elastic portions formed as flanges projecting straight or linearlyfrom the base portion. On the other hand, contact element 206 includesthree elastic portions formed as flanges extending from the base portionin a concave curvature. The width of the flanges in contact element 204is larger than the width of the flanges in contact element 206. On theother hand, the height of the elastic portions of contact element 206 isgreater than the height of the elastic portions of contact element 204.As of result of the present configuration, contact element 204 requiresa larger contact force than contact element 206. However, contactelement 204 has lower contact resistance and higher current carryingcapacity.

[0083] By providing contact elements with different mechanical andelectrical properties, the LGA connector of the present invention can beadvantageously applied in “hot-swapping” applications. Hot-swappingrefers to mounting or demounting an electronic component while thesystem to which the component is to be connected is electrically activewithout damaging to the electronic component or the system. In ahot-swapping operation, various power and ground pins and signal pinsmust be connected and disconnected in sequence and not at the same timein order to avoid damages to the component or the system. By using aconnector including contact elements with different properties, tallercontact elements can be use to make electrical connection before shortercontact elements. In this manner, a desired sequence of electricalconnection can be made to enable hot-swapping operation.

[0084]FIGS. 7A to 7C are cross-sectional views of connector 200 of FIG.6 being applied in a hot-swapping operation. In actual implementation,the height of contact elements 206 and 208 are selected to obtain thedesired contact force and desired spacing to achieve reliablehot-swapping operation.

[0085] Referring to FIG. 7A, connector 200 is shown in the unloadedcondition. Connector 200 is to be connected to a land grid array (LGA)package 220 and a printed circuit board (PC board) 222. A pad 230 on LGApackage 220 represents a power connection (that is, either the positivepower supply voltage or the ground voltage) of the integrated circuitpackaged in the LGA package which is to be connected to a pad 232 on PCboard 222. Pad 232 on PC board 222 is electrically active or“powered-up”. A pad 234 on LGA package 220 represents a signal pin ofthe integrated circuit which is to be connected to a pad 236 on PC board222. To enable hot-swapping operation, power pad 230 should be connectedto pad 232 prior to signal pad 234 being connected to pad 236. Inaccordance with the present invention, connector 200 includes contactelements 206 and 208 having an extended height and a larger elasticworking range than contact elements 204 and 207 such that hot-swappingoperation between LGA package 220 and PC board 222 is realized usingconnector 200.

[0086]FIG. 7B illustrates an intermediate step during the mountingprocess of LGA package 220 to PC board 222 using connector 200. When LGApackage 220 and PC board 222 are compressed together against connector200, pad 230 and pad 232 will make electrical contacts to respectivecontact elements 206 and 208 prior to pads 234 and 236 making connectionto contact elements 204 and 207. In the manner, the power connectionbetween LGA package 220 and PC board 222 is established before thesignal pads are connected.

[0087]FIG. 7C illustrates the mounting of LGA package 220 to PC board222 in a fully loaded condition. By applying further compression force,LGA package 220 is compressed against connector 200 so that contactelement 204 engages signal pad 234. Similarly, PC board 222 iscompressed against connector 200 so that contact element 207 engages pad236 on the PC board. The LGA package is thus mounted onto PC board. Inconnector 200, as the taller contact elements 206, 208 are compressedmore to allow the shorter contact elements 204 and 207 to engage, thecontact force required for the connector will increase. In order tominimize the overall contact force required for the connector, thetaller contact elements 206, 208 can be designed with a lower springconstant than the shorter contact elements 204 and 207 such that allcontact elements are at the optimal contact force in the fully loadedcondition.

[0088]FIG. 7D illustrates the optimization of the contact force usingtwo contact elements with different spring constants. As shown in FIG.7B, there is generally an optimal contact force which is the minimumcontact force that needs to be applied to provide a stable, reliableelectrical connection. By selecting the appropriate spring constant forcontact elements 206 and 204, both contact elements can be at theirrespective optimal contact force when an electronic component is fullyloaded onto the connector. For example, as shown in FIG. 7D, contactelement 206 can be made to behave according to curve B having a lessstiff or more elastic characteristic. Thus, contact element 206 canwithstand a larger displacement before reaching its optimal contactforce. On the other hand, contact element 204 can be made to behaveaccording to curve A having a more stiff or less elastic characteristic.Thus, contact element 204 withstands a lesser amount of displacementbefore reaching its optimal contact force. Ultimately, when anelectronic component is fully loaded, both contact element 206 andcontact element 204 are at the optimal contact force.

[0089]FIGS. 6 and 7A to 7C illustrate one embodiment of the connector ofthe present invention where the contact elements are given differentmechanical properties to enable the use of the connector forhot-swapping operation. As discussed above, the connector of the presentinvention can be designed to include contact elements of other differingmechanical and electrical properties depending on the application inwhich the connector is used.

[0090] Furthermore, in accordance with the present invention, thediffering mechanical and electrical properties of the contact elementscan be obtained by forming the contact elements using different sheetsof metal formed on different layers. Referring again to FIG. 7A, contactelements 204 and 206 are formed using two different metal layers.Specifically, contact element 204 is formed using metal layer 244 whilecontact element 206 is formed using metal layer 246. Metal layers 244and 246 are patterned so that only specific contact element or aspecific group of contact elements is formed using the respective metallayer. Accordingly, contact element 204 is formed using a differentmetal alloy than contact element 206. By providing a multi-layer metalstructure, the elasticity or current carrying capability of theindividual contact element can be tailored to obtain the desiredmechanical, electrical and reliability properties.

[0091]FIG. 7E illustrates a connector including contact elements formedusing multiple layers of metals according to another embodiment of thepresent invention. Referring to FIG. 7E, connector 250 includes amulti-layer structure for forming a first group of contact elements 252and a second group of contact elements 254. In this embodiment, thefirst group of contact elements 252 is formed using a first metal layer256 and the second group of contact elements 254 is formed using asecond metal layer 260. First metal layer 256 and second metal layer 260are isolated by a dielectric layer 258. Each metal layer is patterned sothat a group of contact elements are formed at desired locations on thespecific metal layer. For instance, referring to FIG. 7E, contactelements 252 are formed in metal layer 256 at predefined locations whilecontact elements 254 are formed in metal layer 260 at locations notoccupied by contact elements 252. The different metal layers may includemetal layers with different thicknesses or different metallurgies sothat the operating properties of the contact elements can bespecifically tailored. Thus, by forming a selected contact element or aselected group of contact elements in a different metal layer, thecontact elements of connector 250 can be made to exhibit differentelectrical and mechanical properties.

[0092] In one embodiment, contact elements 252 formed using first metallayer 256 constitute ground pin connections whereby the contact elementsare connected together using a ground plane formed in substrate 262. Onthe other hand, contact elements 254 formed by second metal layer 260constitute individual signal pin connections which are isolated from theground pin connections in the first metal layer.

[0093] In one embodiment, connector 250 can be formed using thefollowing process sequence. First metal layer 256 is stamped to form thefirst group of contact elements. The stamped metal layer 256 can then beattached to dielectric substrate 262. Subsequently, an insulating layer,such as dielectric layer 258, is formed over first metal layer 256. Asecond stamped metal layer 260 can be stamped and attached to thedielectric layer 258. Via holes and conductive traces are formed indielectric substrate 262 and in dielectric layer 258 as needed toprovide a conductive path between each contact element to a respectiveterminal on the opposing side of substrate 262. In this manner, amulti-layer metal structure is formed whereby each metal layer isinsulated from the other and different groups of contact elements can beformed using the different metal layers. The different metal layers mayinclude metal layers with different thicknesses or differentmetallurgies.

[0094] As described above, while FIGS. 6 and 7A to 7E illustrate an LGAconnector formed using the contact elements of the present invention, anLGA connector including heterogeneous contact elements can be formedusing other types of contact elements. The use of the contact elementsof the present invention is illustrative only and is not intended tolimit the connector of the present invention to include contact elementsof the present invention and described above.

[0095] According to another aspect of the present invention, a connectoris provided with ground planes and the impedance of the contact elementscan be controlled by varying the distance between the contact elementfor a signal pin and the ground plane or between the contact element fora signal pin and the contact element for a ground pin. FIGS. 8A and 8Bare cross-section view of connectors including ground planes forimproving signal integrity and for controlling contact elementimpedance. Referring to FIG. 8A, a connector 300 includes a contactelement 302 which is to be connected to a signal pin on an electroniccomponent. Connector 300 further includes contact elements 304 and 306which are to be connected to the ground potential of the electroniccomponent. Connector 300 includes ground planes 310 which are formed onand in dielectric substrate 320. Ground planes 310 can formed on the topsurface of substrate 320 or embedded in substrate 320. In the presentembodiment, ground planes 310 are connected to contact elements 304 and306 to be electrically coupled to the ground potential. Of course, inother embodiments, ground planes 310 can be coupled to the groundpotential through other means.

[0096] The inclusion of ground planes 310 in connector 300 has theeffect of improving the signal integrity of the AC electrical signalsthat are connected through connector 300. Specifically, as integratedcircuits are being operated at higher and higher frequencies while thepackage lead count increases with decreasing lead pitches, the abilityto improve signal integrity in a connector used to interconnect suchintegrated circuits becomes more important. In accordance with thepresent invention, connector 300 includes ground planes 310 whichfunction to reduce noise and improve signal integrity of the connector.Furthermore, in the configuration shown in FIG. 8A, the distance B to B′between the metal planes associated with contact element 302 for asignal pin and the metal planes associated with contact elements 304 and306 for the ground potential can be varied to obtain a desired impedancefor contact element 302.

[0097]FIG. 8B illustrates another embodiment of the connector of thepresent invention where a pair of contact elements 352 and 354 are usedto couple to a pair of differential signals. In the present embodiment,contact elements 352 and 354 are each formed as including conductiveplanes (such as conductive plane 360). The impedance of contact elements352 and 354 can be adjusted by varying the distance between theconductive planes associated with the contact elements.

[0098] According to yet another aspect of the present invention, an LGAconnector is circuitized to incorporate an electrical circuit connectingto one or more contact elements of the connector. In some embodiments,the electrical circuit includes surface mounted or embedded electricalcomponents. By incorporating an electrical circuit coupled to one ormore of the contact elements, the LGA connector of the present inventioncan be provided with improved functionality. A circuitized connector ofthe present invention can be formed using any conventional LGAinterconnect technology. For example, the connector can include contactelements in the form of metal springs, bundled wires, metal in polymer,solid metal tabs, or any other electrical contact technology. Typically,a contact element includes a conductive portion for engaging the pad ofthe land grid array. Furthermore, the LGA connector can be formed usingthe contact element of the present invention and described above.Individual contact elements can be formed on the top surface of thedielectric substrate, such as by placing the contact elements directlyon the top surface, or by embedding a portion of the contact elementwithin the top surface, or by forming a portion of the contact elementwithin an aperture on the top surface of the dielectric substrate.

[0099]FIG. 9A illustrates one embodiment of a circuitized connector inaccordance with the present invention. Referring to FIG. 9A, connector400 includes a contact element 404 on the top surface of dielectricsubstrate 402 connected to a contact element 406 on the bottom surfaceof dielectric substrate 402. In the present embodiment, contact element404 is connected to a surface mounted electrical component 410 and anembedded electrical component 412. Electrical components 410 and 412 maybe decoupling capacitors which are positioned on connector 400 so thatthe capacitors can be placed as close to the electronic component aspossible. In conventional integrated circuit assembly, such decouplingcapacitors are usually placed on the printed circuit board, distant fromthe electronic component. Thus, a large distance exists between theelectronic component to be compensated and the actual decouplingcapacitor, thereby diminishing the effect of the decoupling capacitor.By using circuitized connector 400, the decoupling capacitors can beplaced as close to the electronic component as possible to enhance theeffectiveness of the decoupling capacitors. Other electrical componentsthat may be used to circuitize the connector of the present inventioninclude a resistor, an inductor and other passive or active electricalcomponents.

[0100]FIG. 9B illustrates another embodiment of a circuitized connectoraccording to the present invention. Connector 500 include a contactelement 504 on a dielectric substrate 502 coupled to a solder ballterminal 506 through a via 508. Contact element 504 is connected to asurface mounted electrical component 510 and to an embedded electricalcomponent 512. Connector 500 further illustrates that the placement ofterminal 506 does not have to be aligned with contact element 504 aslong as the contact element is electrically coupled to the terminal,such as through via 508.

[0101] Electrical circuits for providing other functionalities can alsobe applied in the connector of the present invention. In otherembodiments, a connector of the present invention is circuitized bylinking or connecting the power supply pins of the electronic componentstogether, as illustrated in FIGS. 10A and 10B. Referring to FIG. 10A, aconnector 550 includes a contact element 552 and a contact element 554for carrying signals and contact elements 556A to 556C for coupling to apower supply potential, such as a Vcc or a ground potential. In thepresent embodiment, connector 550 is circuitized by including aconductive plane 558 electrically connecting contact elements 556A to556C together. In the present embodiment, conductive plane 558 isforming embedded in substrate 560 and is patterned so that the plane iselectrically isolated from contact elements 552 and 554 (FIG. 10B). Asdemonstrated in FIG. 8, if the conductive plane 558 is a ground plane,the gaps between the conductive plane 558 and the contact elements 552and 554 can be used to control the contact impedances of contactelements 552 and 554.

[0102] In another embodiment, a circuitized connector includes anelectrical circuit to redistribute one or more signals from one lead ofthe electronic component to a number of leads of the other electroniccomponent connected to the connector. FIGS. 10C and 10D illustrate acircuitized connector according to an alternate embodiment of thepresent invention. Referring to FIGS. 10C and 10D, a circuitizedconnector 570 includes contact elements 572, 574, 576, 578 and 580.Instead of being connected to a terminal in vertical alignment to eachcontact element, connector 570 is circuitized so that a contact elementformed on the top surface of the substrate may be connected to any oneor more terminals formed on the bottom of the substrate. Specifically,the interconnection between the contact elements and the terminals canbe realized using metal traces formed in an intermediate layer embeddedwithin the connector substrate. In the present illustration, contactelement 572 is connected to a terminal 582 directly below. However,contact element 574 is routed by metal trace 592 to be connected toterminal 588. Similarly, contact element 578 is routed by metal trace594 to be connected to terminal 584. Finally, contact element 576 isconnected to terminal 586 but also connected to contact element 580 andterminal 590 through metal trace 596. Thus, in accordance with thepresent invention, a connector of the present invention can becircuitized to connect one contact element to a terminal positionedanywhere on the opposite surface of the dielectric substrate.Furthermore, the connector of the present invention can be used toconnect a contact element to a plural number of terminals so that anysignal applied to the one contact element can be distributed to theplural number of terminals.

[0103] As described above, while FIGS. 9A, 9B, 10A and 10C illustratecircuitized connectors formed using the contact elements of the presentinvention, a circuitized LGA connector can be formed using other typesof contact elements. The use of the contact elements of the presentinvention is illustrative only and is not intended to limit theconnector of the present invention to include only contact elements ofthe present invention and described above.

[0104] According to another aspect of the present invention, an LGAconnector incorporates embedded thermal dissipation structures toprovide enhanced heat dissipation capability at specific contactelements. For instance, when a contact element engaging a lead of anelectronic package carries more than 1 A of current, significant Jouleheating can result creating a temperature rise of 20 degrees or more atthe contact element. In accordance with the present invention, an LGAconnector includes embedded thermal dissipation structures so as toeffectively limit the temperature rise at specific contact elements. Forexample, the amount of temperature rise can be reduced to 10 degrees orless by the use of the embedded thermal dissipation structures in theconnector of the present invention.

[0105]FIG. 11 illustrates a connector incorporating thermally conductiveplanes according to one embodiment of the present invention. Referringto FIG. 11, connector 600 includes contact elements 604 and 606 formedon the top surface of dielectric substrate 602. Thermally conductiveplanes 620 and 622 are formed in substrate 602 during the manufacturingprocess of substrate 602. Thermally conductive planes 620 and 622provide heat dissipation function for contact elements 604, 608, 606 and607. In one embodiment, the thermally conductive planes are formed usingCu. In another embodiment, the thermally conductive planes are formedusing filled epoxy, which is not electrically conductive and be inintimate contact with the vias or contact elements without shorting theelectrical paths.

[0106]FIG. 12 illustrates the operation of the thermally conductiveplanes in connector 600. Referring to FIG. 12, contact elements 606 and607 are to be connected to pads of the LGA package and the PC boardrepresenting a high current connection. Thus, Joule heating at the padsoccurs causing heat to be generated at the pads of the LGA package andthe PC board. Thermally conductive planes 620 and 622 function todissipate the heat away from contact elements 606 and 607. In thepresent illustration, the neighboring contact elements 604 and 608 areconnected to a low current carrying signal. Thus, heat generated atcontact elements 606 and 607 can be dissipated through thermallyconductive planes 620 and 622 and through contact elements 604 and 608.

[0107] While the embodiment described above and shown in FIG. 11utilizes an LGA connector using the contact elements of the presentinvention, a LGA connector incorporating thermal dissipation structurecan be formed using other types of contact elements. For example, theconnector can be formed using metal springs and bundle wires. The use ofthe contact elements of the present invention in the LGA connector ofFIG. 11 is illustrative only and is not intended to limit the connectorof the present invention to include only contact elements of the presentinvention and described above.

[0108] According to yet another aspect of the present invention, aconnector includes one or more coaxial contact elements. FIG. 13A is across-sectional view of a connector including a coaxial contact elementaccording to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13B is a topview of the coaxial contact elements of FIG. 13A. Referring to FIG. 13A,connector 700 includes a first contact element 704 and a second contactelement 706 formed on the top surface of a dielectric substrate. Contactelements 704 and 706 are formed in proximity to but electrical isolatedfrom each other. In the present embodiment, contact element 704 includesa base portion formed as an outer ring of aperture 703 while contactelement 706 includes a base portion formed as an inner ring of aperture703. Each of contact elements 704 and 706 includes three elasticportions (FIG. 13B). The elastic portions of contact element 704 do notoverlap with the elastic portions of contact element 706. In the presentembodiment, contact element 704 is connected to a contact element 708 onthe bottom surface of dielectric substrate 702 through a via 712.Contact elements 704 and 708 form a first current path, referred hereinas the outer current path of connector 700. Furthermore, contact element706 is connected to a contact element 709 on the bottom surface ofdielectric substrate 702 through a metal trace formed in aperture 703.Contact elements 706 and 709 form a second current path, referred hereinas the inner current path of connector 700.

[0109] As thus constructed, connector 700 can be used to interconnect acoaxial connection on a LGA package 730 to a coaxial connection on a PCboard 732. FIG. 14 illustrates the mating of LGA package 730 to PC board732 through connector 700. Referring to FIG. 14, when LGA package 730 ismounted to connector 700, contact element 704 engages a pad 742 on LGApackage 730. Similarly, when PC board 732 is mounted to connector 700,contact element 708 engages a pad 746 on PC board 732. As a result, theouter current path between pad 742 and pad 746 is formed. Typically, theouter current path constitutes a ground potential connection. On theother hand, contact element 706 engages a pad 744 on LGA package 730while contact element 709 engages a pad 748 on PC board 732. As aresult, the inner current path between pad 744 and pad 748 is formed.Typically, the inner current path constitutes a high frequency signal.

[0110] A particular advantage of the connector of the present inventionis that the coaxial contact elements can be scaled to dimensions of 1 mmor less. Thus, the connector of the present invention can be used toprovide coaxial connection even for small geometry electroniccomponents.

[0111] In the above description, the connector of the present inventionis illustrated as being used to interconnect an LGA package to a PCboard. This is illustrative only and in other embodiments of the presentinvention, the connector can be used to interconnect two PC boards ortwo chip modules together. Basically, the connector of the presentinvention can be generally applied to connect the metal pads (lands) ofan area array on an electronic component to the metal pads (lands) of anarea array on another electronic component. In the case of the mating oftwo PC boards, the connector of the present invention providesparticular advantages as PC boards are almost never coplanar. Becausethe connector of the present invention can be applied to accommodate alarge coplanarity variation, such as on the order of 200 microns ormore, with an insertion force of about 40 grams per contact or less, theconnector of the present invention can be readily applied to make areaarray connections between two PC boards. Furthermore, the connector ofthe present invention is scalable in both pitch and height to less than1 mm and is therefore suitable for use in small dimensional area arrayconnections.

[0112] Moreover, in the above descriptions, various embodiments of theconnector are illustrated as including a first contact element on topand a second contact element on the bottom surface of the substrate. Asdiscussed above, the use of a second contact element on the bottomsurface of the substrate to serve as a terminal for the first contactelement is illustrative only. The terminal can be formed as other typesof electrical connection such as a solder ball or a pin.

[0113] According to yet another aspect of the present invention, aprinted circuit board (PC board) incorporates an area array of LGAcontact elements. Thus, an LGA package, an LGA module or another PCboard with an area land grid array formed thereon can be attached to thePC board without the use of an interposer connector. By forming an areaarray of LGA contact elements, also referred to as a contact grid array,directly on a PC board, a compact and low profile integrated circuitassembly can be realized. Furthermore, the contact grid array providesseparable or remountable interconnection for the LGA components to bemounted on the PC board. Thus, the benefit of a separable connection isretained even though a separate intermediate connector is eliminated.

[0114] In one embodiment, the contact grid array can be formed using anyconventional LGA interconnect technology. Typically, a contact elementincludes a conductive portion for engaging the pad of a land grid array.For example, the connector can include contact elements in the form ofmetal springs, bundled wires, metal in polymer, solid metal tabs, or anyother electrical contact technology. Individual contact elements can beformed on the top surface of the dielectric substrate, such as byplacing the contact elements directly on the top surface, or byembedding a portion of the contact element within the top surface, or byforming a portion of the contact element within an aperture on the topsurface of the dielectric substrate. When metal springs and bundledwires are used as contact elements, the contact elements can be securedin their respective locations by compression force from the side walls(compression fit) or by adhesive or by soldering. Furthermore, thecontact grid array can be formed using the contact element of thepresent invention as described above.

[0115]FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of a printed circuit boardincorporating a contact grid array according to one embodiment of thepresent invention. Referring to FIG. 15, an array of contact elements802, or a contact grid array 802, is integrated into a printed circuitboard 800. The contact grid array 802 can be used to engage an LGApackage or an LGA module without requiring the use of an LGA connector.Furthermore, individual contact elements can be coupled to therespective connection on printed circuit board 800 using conventionalPCB technologies. For example, contact element 803 is connected to asolder bump lead 812 of a surface mounted component 808 through a via805, a metal trace 810 and another via 809.

[0116] Contact grid array 802 formed on PC board 800 can be customizedas described above to provide the desired operating properties. Forexample, the contact grid array can be formed to include contactelements having different operating properties, or the contact gridarray can be circuitized to include electrical components, or thecontact grid array can be formed to include thermally conductive planes.Finally, the contact grid array can also be formed to incorporate one ormore coaxial contact elements.

[0117]FIG. 16 is cross-sectional view of a printed circuit boardincorporating a contact grid array according to another embodiment ofthe present invention. Referring to FIG. 16, a PC board 850 includes acontact grid array 852. In the present illustration, contact grid array852 includes a contact element 852 formed using a metal spring, acontact element 854 formed using bundled wire, and a contact element 855formed using a metal spring. Contact grid array 852 can be used toconnect to LGA package 856. Furthermore, contact grid array 852 providesa separable or remountable connection whereby LGA package 856 can beremoved and remated. FIG. 16 illustrates that the contact grid array ofthe present invention can be formed using other types of contactelements and also using a variety of contact elements. That is, contactgrid array 852 does not have to be formed using the same type of contactelements. Furthermore, in addition to making electrical contact to theprinted circuit board at the bottom of the contact element, the contactelements can make electrical contact with metallized sidewalls 864 inthe circuit board. These sidewalls can be used to route electricalcurrent to different layers in the circuit board 866.

[0118] Incorporating a contact grid array in a PC board in accordancewith the present invention provides many advantages. First, individualcontact elements can be circuitized so that conductive traces for eachcontact element can be formed in different layers of the PC board,enabling high degree of integration. For example, as shown in FIG. 14,contact element 855 is formed deeper in PC board 850 and connects to ametal trace 857. Through metal trace 857, contact element 855 isconnected to a lead of a surface mount component 858. In the presentillustration, surface mount component 858 is a ball grid array and isattached to pads 860 and 862 of PC board 850. Second, the overallelectrical path length can be reduced by removing the interposer.Reducing the overall electrical path length generally reduces resistanceand inductance, and improves signal integrity. Similarly, the overallcost can be reduced by removing the interposer and reducing the numberof components. The contact elements can be reworked individually duringassembly, if required, such that a single poor contact element does notrequire the replacement of the entire array. Furthermore, the profile ofthe connector can be reduced to allow the mounted LGA component to liecloser to the surface of the printed circuit board. This is particularlyadvantageous in mobile applications and other applications in whichthere are restrictions on the overall system height.

[0119] The above detailed descriptions are provided to illustratespecific embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to belimiting. Numerous modifications and variations within the scope of thepresent invention are possible. For example, one of ordinary skill inthe art would appreciate that references to the “top” and “bottom”surfaces of the dielectric substrate are illustrative only and the “top”and “bottom” references are merely used to refer to the two opposingmajor surfaces of the dielectric substrate. Furthermore, while the abovedescription refers to the use of the connector of the present inventionfor connecting to land grid array packages, one of ordinary skill in theart would appreciate that the connector of the present invention can beused as an interconnect for any types of area array formed using pads orlands as the electrical connections or the leads. The references to landgrid array packages are illustrative only. The present invention isdefined by the appended claims.

We claim:
 1. An electrical connector for electrically connecting to padsof a land grid array formed on an electronic component, the connectorcomprising: a dielectric layer including opposing first and secondsurfaces; a plurality of contact elements, pre-formed in an array in asheet of conductive spring material, the contact elements includinggenerally opposed elastic portions that are displaced outwardly from thesheet, the sheet being bonded to the first surface such that the elasticportions extend outwardly above the first surface of the dielectriclayer, each of the contact elements comprising a base portion ofconductive material that is singulated from the base portions ofadjacent ones of the contact elements, and the elastic portions ofconductive material are formed integrally with the base portion; theplurality of contact elements comprise a first group of contact elementsand a second group of contact elements, the first group of contactelements having an operating property based on a formation thereof inthe sheet that is different than an operating property of the secondcontact element.
 2. The electrical connector of claim 1, furthercomprising the first plurality of contact elements being selectivelymasked, and a layer of material being deposited only on the secondplurality of contact elements.
 3. The electrical connector of claim 1,in which the first plurality of contact elements comprise a first metalcomposition and the second plurality of contact elements comprise asecond metal composition.
 4. The electrical connector of claim 1,further comprising the first plurality of contact elements protrude afirst distance above the first surface, and the second plurality ofcontact elements protrude a second distance above the first surface thatis different than the first distance.
 5. The electrical connector ofclaim 1, further comprising the elastic portions of the contact elementsof the first group having a first length and the elastic portions of thecontact elements of the second group having a second length, differentfrom the first length, and each elastic portion having an elasticworking range on an order of the first or second length of the elasticportion of the respective contact element to allow staggered contactwith the land grid array during installation or removal.
 6. Theelectrical connector of claim 5, further comprising the elastic portionsof the first plurality of contact elements extending linearly.
 7. Theelectrical connector of claim 6, further comprising the elastic portionsof the second plurality of contact elements extending non-linearly. 8.The electrical connector of claim 5, further comprising the elasticportions of the second plurality of contact elements extendingnon-linearly.
 9. An electrical connector for electrically connecting topads of a land grid array formed on an electronic component, theconnector comprising: a first dielectric layer including opposing firstand second surfaces; a first plurality of contact elements pre-formed ina first sheet of elastic spring material, each of the first plurality ofcontact elements comprising a base portion of conductive material and anelastic portion of conductive material formed integrally with the baseportion, the elastic portion extending from the base portion, the sheetbeing bonded to the first surface such that the elastic portions of thefirst plurality of contact elements extend above the first surface ofthe dielectric layer, the base portions of at least some of the firstplurality of contact elements are singulated from the base portions ofadjacent ones of the first plurality of contact elements; a seconddielectric layer located on the first surface over the base portions ofthe first plurality of contact elements and including a plurality ofapertures through which the elastic portions of the first plurality ofcontact elements pass; and a second plurality of contact elementspre-formed in a second sheet of elastic spring material, each of thesecond plurality of contact elements comprising a base portion ofconductive material and an elastic portion of conductive material formedintegrally with the base portion, the elastic portion extending from thebase portion, the second sheet being bonded to an exposed surface of thesecond dielectric layer such that the elastic portions of the first andsecond pluralities of contact elements extend above the seconddielectric layer, the base portions of at least some of the secondplurality of contact elements are singulated from the base portions ofadjacent ones of the second plurality of contact elements.
 10. Theelectrical connector of claim 9, further comprising a layer of materialbeing deposited on one of the first and second plurality of contactelements.
 11. The electrical connector of claim 9, further comprisingthe elastic portions of the first plurality of contact elementsextending non-linearly.
 12. The connector of claim 9, further comprisingthe elastic portions of the second plurality of contact elementsextending linearly.
 13. The connector of claim 9, further comprising theelastic portions of the first plurality of contact elements having afirst length and the elastic portions of the second plurality of contactelements having a second length, different from the first length, andelastic portions of the first and second groups of contact elementselastically engage a respective pad of the land grid array for providingelectrical connection to the land grid array